Somerset in pictures: Pumpkins and stolen cheese

This week, in time for Halloween, our weekly photo roundup for the county features a huge pumpkin grown by a local man on his allotment.

We also have a boxing champion who won despite her injuries and some stolen cheeses.

Halloween pumpkin: Ben Rayner from Highbridge in Somerset has grown a pumpkin that is about 91cm high and the diameter of a wooden pallet. Westcroft Farm in Berrow has put the pumpkin on display and is allowing people to guess its weight for a prize yet to be confirmed.

Boxing champion: A woman who was crowned British boxing champion says the sport saved her life by providing an outlet to cope with her break-up ‘in a positive way’. Lucy Payne won the Union Boxing Federation title last month after victory at Blake Hall, Bridgewater. The single mother from Carhampton, Somerset, defeated her opponent while nursing a dislocated shoulder and a torn rotator cuff.

Cheese theft: A supplier whose cheese was among the 22 tonnes targeted by thieves said the theft is a “very difficult loss”. Tom Calver, director of Westcombe Dairy in Westcombe, Somerset, said he was “extremely saddened” when he heard the news. The cheese was supplied by London-based Neal’s Yard to an alleged fraudster posing as a wholesaler for a major French retailer.

Historic pier: John Crockford-Hawley, the mayor of Weston-super-Mare, discovered he was related to a boy who helped open Birnbeck pier 160 years ago. The discovery came ahead of the announcement of a £10 million package to save the pier from collapse. He said he is the nephew of Cecil Smith-Piggott, the four-year-old son of the landlord who laid the foundation stone of the pier with a ceremonial trowel.

Tax rules: Steve Corrick, owner of a small tea shop in Axbridge, said current tax rules have forced him to close his cafe in Somerset one day a week to avoid making too much money. He said the situation “means that today we are not employing people and not serving the local community, it is insane”.

Disability football: The number of people with disabilities getting involved in football has increased significantly, says Somerset’s Football Association. The pan-disability competition is thriving and now features 14 adult teams, five under-16 teams and four under-12 teams. Disability football is open to almost anyone who faces barriers to mainstream versions of the sport, and all abilities are welcome on teams across the country.

Career choice: A pediatric nurse retiring after nearly 50 years says her career choice was “the best decision of my life.” Helen Parfitt, 69, who worked her last shift at Musgrove Park Hospital, Taunton, Somerset, at the end of September, said: “I can’t believe the time has come for me to leave.”